Camillus had the touch, when needed! R.I.P.

waynorth

waynorth

Dealer / Materials Provider
Joined
Nov 19, 2005
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Simple, nicely proportioned, aesthetically pleasing. Just under 3 3/8" long.

CamillusEO1.jpg

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Camillus was the giant behind the scenes for many knife companies, filling contracts for many and sundry. They made the Scout type, and other Delrin handled knives for Case for many years. Some of those beautiful Case XX Redbone Barlows were made by Camillus.
They made simple and complicated knives. They made plain-jane and fancy knives. And most of the knives were perfectly suited for their assigned tasks. Don't forget the millions of knives they made for the best equipped Army in the world!

This mid-sized EO is a simple but wonderful piece. The Rogers type Bone is very nice to ogle, and fondle (better known as CEing and CFing!) The blades snap smartly into all three positions, and the springs fall flush at each stop along the way. Some production makers have forgotten how to do this! :rolleyes: Sigh. . . . .

May the Spirit of Camullus live on!

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Not to mention they made the Buck 300 series for a number of years.
Cold Steel, too.

To me there is something about the shape of a Camillus clip blade that I don't think anyone else ever matched.
 
I think they had a lot of parts for that handle pattern after WWII. I suspect they made this one just before, or more likely, after WWII. Brass liners, and no stamp on the pen blade suggest that time frame, but I'm no Camillus expert. They never threw anything away, and used that 4-line stamp in various time periods. BRL says it's a fool's game trying to date Camillus knives.:rolleyes: I agree, after many attempts!
 
That is one handsome jack you have there. It is a shame Camillus went under a few years back. Didn't someone buy up the name recently?
 
Acme Knives bought the name, and they are planning to produce a number of their patterns in the US. They already offer some imported Camillus branded knives. :(
 
Nice knife. :)
Camillus Knives were GREAT! Didn't they go under just a couple years after Schrade? :(
-Bruce
 
"Simple, nicely proportioned, aesthetically pleasing. Just under 3 3/8" long."
(quoted by Charlie.)

A sentence that sums that beautiful knife up just perfect. What a fantastic knife in great condition!
 
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Thats a great lookin EO Charlie... Camillus made some great knives over the years, and it was sad to see them go.
I met one of the biggies from Camillus at the Eugene show about 7 or 8 years ago. Great guy to talk to, plus he gave me a smokin buy on a couple new knives.
You could tell he had a lot of pride in the company, and by the sounds of it, so did most of the employees...
 
I love everything about that easy open Charlie. It even has a bail!
 
Nice knife, Charlie. :cool:

waynorth said:
...Camillus was the giant behind the scenes for many knife companies, filling contracts for many and sundry. They made the Scout type, and other Delrin handled knives for Case for many years....
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I always wondered why Case didn't make these themselves. Was it was cheaper to contract out than to retool to make a new pattern?

case-scout.jpg
 
supratentorial said:
I always wondered why Case didn't make these themselves. Was it was cheaper to contract out than to retool to make a new pattern?
Click to expand...

Because cutlery companies are businesses. If it was cheaper to have another company make a knife to a certain specification than it could be done in house, that is what was done. Camillus made knives for other companies and other companies made knives for Camillus... It happened then and it still happens today.
 
I realy miss Camillus they seemed to be such a staple in american cutlery history I've still got a Yello-Jacket trapper I know it isn't worth a whole lot but the quality is amazing but I'm kind of afraid to use it and possibly loose it.
 
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